The Green Power Plant

New Typologies column originally published in Frame Issue 132

In the midst of the urgent need for action on global climate crises, architects and designers find themselves in an interesting position. As reported by the World Green Building Council in September 2019, building and construction are responsible for 39% of global carbon emissions, meaning those who are designing those buildings are coming under increased pressure to acknowledge their professional responsibility in the fight for the future – and to act on it.

How they might do this is, of course, complex. The Architect’s Declare campaign in the UK is advocating the use of low-embodied carbon materials, whole life carbon modelling and designing for retrofit and renovation rather than demolition. Yet with signatories such as Fosters + Patners continuing to take on large-scale airport projects, it’s difficult to know how seriously to take the campaign. Elsewhere in the industry, however, there is a promising interest in a flourishing typology: the green power plant…

New Typologies column originally published in Frame Issue 132